While on a visit to the Italian region of Val Gardena, we visited the studio of Lepi Original Woodcarvings. Known for exquisite detail, their collections are found throughout the world. They also produce the smallest fully carved and hand-painted nativity figures that we have ever seen. This astonishing 2” collection of 22 painstakingly crafted Nativity figures is from Lepi’s Rupert collection.
As these figures are so unbelievably small and easy to knock over and lose, we contemplated how to incorporated them into a permanently fixed design. The elegance of the figures demanded a richer design. We found this antique gold-leaf frame in an antique shop and Michael painted the evening renaissance sky backdrop to which this scene emerges into a three-dimensional piece of wall art. The crumbling Roman architecture and classic landscape complete this one-of-a-kind Nativity.
